Berkeley resident a double winner at Marin Triathlon

FOR THE second consecutive year Brice Winkler, a 23 year-old Berkeley resident, was a double winner at the Marin County Triathlon at McNear's Beach on Sunday in San Rafael.

This year, Brice and his father Clay were the first relay team to cross the finish line. Brice took charge, finishing in the 1.5K swim in 22 minutes, 9.1 seconds before handing the baton off to his father, Clay. Clay then soared through the three-lap, 22-mile bike course in 1:05:59.9. Brice took care of the last leg of the race as well, running the two-lap, 10K course in 34:28.6 for an all around time of 2:03:09.0.

"I swam and ran. My dad is a very avid cyclist so he wanted to get in on the action and ride it so I let him," Winkler said. "It always feels really good (to finish first). I'm just really happy to see everybody out here pushing themselves. It doesn't matter if you finish first or 30th, it just matters that you are pushing yourself to your limit. I finished first and that's always a plus, but for me to be able to push myself is what I really enjoy."

Brice also enjoyed his time on Saturday where he earned another first-place finish in the Sprint race for the second consecutive year. The Sprint race is a three pronged race just like a triathlon — only shorter. Brice finished the 500-meter swim, 8-mile bike course and the 5K run in a time of 49:13.

Yu Hsiao, 22, torched through Sunday's Olympic length triathlon course in 2:01:34.9 to finish as one of the top individuals.

"Yes, I am very happy with today's performance," Hsiao said. "I thought I would come in the top five or three, but I didn't expect to be all the way up there."

Shortly after Hsiao crossed the finish line, so did the top Marin finisher — Adam Messner, a 33 year-old Mill Valley resident. Messner finished the race in 2:09:49.1, finishing just off the podium in fourth place. Messner, who swam collegiately at Stanford and won a gold medal in the 800m freestyle relay in the 1999 Pan American Games, was the first athlete out of the water in a time of 18:12.6.

"Yes, I'm absolutely happy. Well, first of all, my aunt and uncle, Dave and Betty, came down all the way from Alaska to watch this. So they were here to support me. So I felt like I had to go faster to justify their trip down here," Messner said with a smile. "I did it two or three years ago and won my age group so this year I went in the elite group, hoping to win, but other people had other plans for me."

Sian Turner, 30, of Redwood City won the women's division. She finished the race in 2:22:13.5.

"I felt pretty good, actually. It was my first Olympic distance race. I normally race longer or off-road on my mountain bike," Turner said. "The run (was my favorite part of the event). There's loads of people out there cheering everyone on. It's nice."

Ross resident Ashley Wood, 41, who was the fastest woman at this race for the past three years, took home a third place finish this time around in 2:24:50.9.

"My favorite leg is always the swim and then I love finishing with the run," said Wood, who has competed in this event since it came into being five years ago. "I race for my kids and my daughter Piper who has a severe type of epilepsy."